Rowan News

According to Rowan County Commission Chairman Greg Edds, the county's recently passed Second Amendment-sanctuary measure is more about “telling folks what the county stands on” rather than enacting any laws or ordinances. 

The measure states that county officials are opposed to any law that would encroach upon Second Amendment rights. It also asserts that the right of individuals to “keep and bear arms is under attack," Edds said.

“We are for the lawful use of firearms and do not in any way defend unlawful use,” Edds said. “This is an easy thing for us. Rowan County wants to be a community that values our right to self-defense.”

Commissioners traveled this road in 2013 after President Barack Obama announced what Rowan County considered to be “anti-gun initiatives.” The county passed a resolution at the time imploring the state General Assembly to guarantee the “God-given right to self-defense.” 

It also stated that Rowan County would not “bow down to unconstitutional laws, executive orders or foreign/domestic tyranny.”

Concealed carry in Rowan County office buildings was given the green light in 2014. 

Residents have been requesting another resolution be passed, said Mike Caskey, Rowan County Commissioner. Private Facebook group Make Rowan County a Second Amendment Sanctuary had more than 5,000 members at the time the resolution was passed. 

Several counties in the area are also considering resolutions, including Alexander, Randolph, Davidson and Iredell. Surrey, Wilkes and Lincoln counties have already passed similar proposals. 

Caskey said a measure was needed now because there has been a change in partisan control in state government. The most recent resolution maintains that the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens should not be infringed upon "because of the illegal misuse of firearms."